Apparatus for cutting openings in deep-well casings



Oct. 15, 1929. G. H. c. VAN KEULEN 1,731,553

APPARATUS FOR CUTTING OPENINGS IN DEEP WELL CASINGS Filed Feb. l, 1929 da f. l

Patented Oct. 15', 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FR CUTTING OPENING-S IN DEEP-WELL CASINGS appueation mea February 1, 1929, serial No. 336,671, and nl the' ne'tnerlandsnecember 2s, 192s.

This invention relates to apparatus for cuttin apertures in, or for cutting off the casing.

set up. With this object in view, my novel apparatus comprises a housing adapted to be lowered into a deep well casing by means of a supporting pipe and carrying a holder in which a cutter is revolubly mounted, said holder being adapted, under the inliuence of a spring or equivalent means, to

swing out about a horizontal axis until theA cutter assumes a horizontal or an inclined position. Said cutter is turned by a rod adapted to be lowered into the casing simultaneously with the pipe for supporting the housing through gears mounted on said rod and on the cutter, in addition to a gear Wheel rotatable about the swinging axis of the cutter holder.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I shall now proceed to describe, by way of example only, one preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the annexed drawing, on which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of `the apparatus, suspended from a string of pipes in a deep well casing, the latter being shown in section,

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of said apparatus, taken at right angles to that shown in Fig. 1 I

. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line III-III in Fig. 1 and drawn to an enlarged scale and l Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view along the line IV--IV in Fig. 3.

' The substantially cylindrical housing 10 is provided in its upper portion with a hole through which passes a vertical spindle 11 adapted to be coupled to the turn rod 12, see Fig. 1. Supported in bearings 14 of inwardly projecting cheeks 13 of said housing are the horizontal trunnions 15 of a holder 16 for a cutter 17 provided with a spindle portion revolubly mounted within the holder and carrying a mitre gear 18 meshing with a mitre wheel 19 'which is loosely mounted on one .of the trunnions 15 and in turn meshes withv a 60 conical wheel 20 secured to the lower end of spindle 11. It will thus be seen that swinging motion of the holder 16 about the trunnions 15 does not 'interfere with the meshing of the aforesaid three gear wheels.

Secured to each trunnion 15 is a grooved pulley 21 and connected to these are the ends of a rope or cord 22 passing over a loose ulley 24 loaded by a coiled spring 23. aid spring is enclosed withina sleeve 25 screwed on the housing 10 and can be tensioned by means .of a threaded rod 26. Spring 23 tends to swing the cutter 17 from the position shown in Fig. 3 upwards, but owing to the presence of a lthin plate 27 screwed to the housing 10 in the path of the cutter, the latter, as long as it is not rotated, is prevented from projecting from its housing and cannot, therefore, interfere with the descending motion of the apparatus within the deep well casing 28. As soon, however, as cutter 17 is driven by rod 12, it readily cuts through plate 27 to engage the inner wall of casing 28.

It is essential for the housing 10 to be steadied relative to the c as' 28, as long as the cutter 17 is in operation. his steadiness cannot be suiiiciently ensured by the string of pipes 29, from which housing 10 is suspended through a socket 30 and a length of tube 31 provided through a relatively great length with screw thread tapering at the top for engaging the lower pipe section 29. For

this reason, a spring cage of known construction is provided around tube 31, said cage having for its duty to frictionally engage the inner wall of casing 28 without, however, interfering with the required vertical motions of the apparatus. Said spring cage consists of two vertically spaced rings 32, 33 interconnected by three convex spring blades 34, the central portions of which are in frictional contact with the casing.

Also secured to ring 33 are the lower ends of three spring blades 40 which face the inner sides of springs 34 and the free upper ends of which tend to engage the outer Vwall of tube 31 intermediate l etween rings 32, 33. Secured to a third ring' 39, which encircles tube 31 intermediate between rings 32, 33, are three spring blades 37 extending in upward direc; tion and provided at their upper ends with enlarged clutches 38, which tend to engage the outer face of a conical socket 35 screwed on the upper end of tube 31 and adapted for easy rotation thereon. Socket 35 is provided at its lower end witha collar 36 having three notches for receiving the springs 37 secured to ring 39.

It should be understood that rings 32, 33 and 39 are adapted for easy sliding motion over tube 31.

When the described apparatus is lowered into casing 28, its constituent parts assume the positions shown in Fig. 1. That is to say', ring 32y of the spring cage engages collar 36 of the conical socket 35, owing to the friction generated between the springs 34 and the casing, whereas ring 39, which is located belowT the upper n'dsofspringsflO, forces springs 40 awa from 'tube 31. If theapparatus `has reac ed the required depth, the string of pipes 29 and also rod 12 are raised through a short distance. Owing to its frictional engagement vwith casing 28, spring cage 32, 33, 34, 40 will then remain stationary, but, owing to the enlarged clutches 38 engaging the upper face of collar 36, ring 39 is drawn upwards so that it disengages springs 37 which, consequently, resiliently move inwards into contact with tube 31. On a subsequent descending motion of the apparatus, ring 39 abuts against the top faces of springs 40, so that during further downward motion of the apparatus said ringI and also its clutches 38 remain stationary and the yconicalisocket 35: forces the clutches 38 radially outwards into powerful frictional contact with the inner wall of casing 28, so that the apparatus supported by tube 31 and socket 35 remains poised. Thereupon, rod 12 isrotated whereby cutter 17 is put into opera- 5 tion. After having vertically cut throughthe thin plate 27 under the combined actions of spindle-11 and spring 23, the cutter 17 will assume a substantially horizontal position, when its holder 16 engages a face 41 of inember 10 so as to be'prevented from further upward swinging motion. Meanwhile, cutter 17 willalready have engaged the Wall of easing 28 and, casu quo, also the wall of a second casing that may surround casing 28. This depends, inter alia, upon the lengthof thecutter.

, If, after the cutter has reached its horizontal position, the string of pipes 29 is slowly rotated, the cutter will follow this movement so as to eut through the casing. During this horizontal movement, the cutter is also displaced in vertical direction owing to the screw` connection between the rotating tube 31 and the stationary socket 35,150 that it moves along a helicoidal path and can be usedl to cut away any desired length of the casing.

Water may be introduced through the string of pipes 29, tube 31 and vertical passages 42 in member 10'.

When the-cutting operation is finished, the

apparatus can again be hoisted, when the cutter 17 will slide along the inner wall of the casing 28. Before'being removed from 'the deep well, the apparatus may be used for making holesin the wall of the casing at a smaller depth, for although plate 27 has then already been cut through, so that cutter 17 projects from its housing in a downwardly inclined position, the apparatus can-without diiiculty be lowered through a small distance y(which is necessary forl forcing the clutches Ya ratchet wheel'43 screwed thereon, care being taken thata suiiicient amount of frictional resistance is offered against rotation of wheel 43 on its screw.

A spring pawl 44, pivotally mounted-in the housing, cooperates with the ratchet wheel 43 in such a manner that it inoperatively glides over the ratchet wheel whenever the cutter swings upwards, but checks rotation of said wheel when the cutter, during the hoisting of the apparatus, swings downwards.- The axial position of the ratchet wheel 43 on its screw threaded trunnion 15 thus indicates the number of times the cutter has been forced downwards. y

Obviously, plate 27 may be replaced by a series of superposed cross pins or by other means, provided that these can be cut through by the cutter.

What I claim is 1. In apparatus for cutting openings in deep well casings, the combination of a housing, a holder mounted within said housingfor swinging about a horizontal axis, means tending to impart swinging motion to said holder, a cutter rotatable within said holder, j

said cutter extending crosswise of the axis of rotation of-said holder and ada ted to project from said housing, a gear W eel on said cutter, a second gear wheel rotatable about theswinging axis of said holder and 1 meshing with the first said gear wheel, and` a third -gear wheel adapted for rotation about v a vertical axis and meshing with the second said gear wheel. v v

2. In vapparatus for cutting openings in deep Well casings, the combination of a housing, a holder mounted within said housing for swinging about a horizontal axis, means tending'to impart swinging motion to said holder, a cutter rotatable Within said holder,

'said cutter extending crosswise of the'axis meshing with the first said gear wheel, a third gear wheel adapted for rotation about a vertical axis and meshing with the second said gear Wheel, and a cuttable element secured to the housing in the path of movement of the cutter when swinging about the horizontal axis of. its holder.l

3. In apparatus for cutting openings in deep well casings, the combination of a housing, a holder mounted within said housing for swinging about a horizontal axis, means tending to impart swinging motion to said v holder, a cutter rotatable within said holder,

said cutter extending crosswise of the axis of rotation of said holder andadapted to project from said housing, a gear wheel on said cut' pter, a second gear wheel rotatable about the swinging axis of`said holder and meshing with the first said gear wheel, a third gear wheel adapted for rotation about a vertical axis and meshing with the second said gear wheel, steadying means vertically slidable relative to said housing, a nut member in screwed engagement with the housing, and means cooperating with said steadying means and adapted on vertical movement of said nut member relative to said steadying means to radially expand while in engagement with said nut member.

4. In apparatus for cutting openings in deep well casings, the combination of a housing, a holder mounted within said housing for swinging about a horizontal axis, means tending to impart swinging motion to said holder, a cutter rotatable within said holder, said cutter extending crosswise of the axis of rotation of said holder and ada ted to project from said housing, a gear w eel on said cutter, a second gear Wheel rotatable 'about the swinging axis of said holder and meshing with the first said gear Wheel, a third gear wheel adapted for rotation about a vertical axis and meshing with the second said gear wheel, radially resilient and expandible vmeans vertically slidable relative to said housing, a nut member in screwed engagement with the housing, an external conical a face on said nut member, a clutch ada ted for sliding movement over said conical ace, and means coupled with said clutch and in tripping engagement with said radially resilient and expandible means.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature. GODEFRIDUS HENDRIKUS CLERKX nn KEULEN. 

